Twas' the night before hiking when all through the house, not a creature was stirring besides a franticly packing hiker! Tomorrow, taste it, let the sound roll around your tongue, infuse with your taste buds, every ridge and every crevice, let it reverberate through your vocal chords, let it travel up past your heart where it gives it a wink and a smile, and feel its origin its creation in your gut, knowing it is real. The word has a tangible meaning and taste to it now. Tomorrow. We have been working towards that "tomorrow" for months now, if in a broader term for years. Working with no reprieve, with no break, because we know to reach this tomorrow required much sacrifice. To reach for this tomorrow would require all of us. Yes, we can say that now we are here, we have given it our all. Not just our all but if possible more. It consumed us, transformed us, directed us, guided us, took from us and gave to us. This tomorrow that we now can see has been the puppet master to our play. The director to our movie. The conductor to our orchestra. The theme of the play has grown as we have, it has been a tragedy, it has been a comedy, it has been a history, and it has been a romance. Yet, no matter the scene no matter the theme it has brought us here, it has brought us to this moment, let us look forward to, tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
Well everyone we will be leaving for hiking season 2021, tomorrow, Sunday, January 31st. So, we wanted to do a little bit of house cleaning before we went. To let you know what to expect from us, ElevenSkys while we are out on trail. This company was built and founded to be sustained and run from a thru-hikers world, which is the trail and we are now going back to its home, its origin. What does this look like for us? Well, this year there are many things you can expect from ElevenSkys as we continue to grow with you.
First, these articles that we have poured our heart and souls into, and received your massive outpourings of love. Thank you so much for following along, we honestly cannot thank you all enough, you continue to fuel the fire which is our heart and our company because they are one in the same. That being said we are not going to completely leave you in the lurch, but we will need to cut back on the frequency on which we publish articles. As you know we have been adhering to a (3) times a week schedule. We have published every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. That demands much and we have been happy to give it even in the world of chaos that has been our lives in 2020, yet going into 2021 and 8 months on trail, we honestly wished to continue this, but simply it is not feasible. We do not want to set up expectations that will be let down. The trail is going to demand much from us, and reality itself will dictate when we can publish an article. Simply sometimes there will be no WiFi or cell service for days. This means that we are going to publish (1) article a week for when we are out on trail this year. If you haven't already please subscribe to our mailing list so you do not miss out. This weekly publication will come on the day that we find ourselves in a trail town doing our other chores. It could be a Monday, it could be a Wednesday, and it could be a Saturday. Yet, we are committed and will publish (1) article a week while out on trail this year. This article will most likely be in the form of current happenings and feelings on trail, and we are beyond excited to have a written outlet with which to share this all with you.
A goal that was inspired by trail for trail, now 6 years in the making.
Second, our videos. If you also have not by now, please head over to HikingAmerica (click here) on Youtube and Subscribe to our channel. This channel was in place before ElevenSkys, but has grown to incorporate it into itself. If you have not seen previously we have all our thru-hikes over on that channel. The AT, the PCT, the CDT, the OCT, the PT, the PNT, the AZT, the IAT, the NTNST, the GDT, the VIT, and the S2S. We also have some fun Top 10 lists for hikers and outdoor lovers that give glimpses into this lifestyle. Yet, what can you expect from us moving forward into 2021? Well, like any other year we will be publishing videos once a week. Again, dictated to us by service and WiFi with which we can upload them. These videos will show you the trail as we experience it. The miles we do each day, the feelings involved, and the progression and evolution (the devolution??) into our journey into 8,000 miles and completing all 11 national scenic trails. We are so excited for our first trail, the Florida Trail, this year because these films will be featuring a special guest! Then we have two more trails in between that will be us stepping out the miles and talking to cows, corn and mosquitoes. Then again we will be joined by a special guest that words cannot define on the NCT, North Country Trail. We will tell you the second special guest, honestly you know by now, it is our partner Magpie that we love with all our heart. We are so excited, the film will let you travel with us, sweat with us, laugh with us, love with us, and yes more often than not probably cry with us. Come experience the emotional rollercoaster which will be this year of 2021 with us!
Third, our partnership with Tell Your Trail. If you have not seen them already, head over to our Interview Page, and we have (4) of our pre-trail interviews already released. Defining and giving shape to the years before, the years of 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. While we were growing as a hiker and finding this life that we have unfathomable passion for. Our 5th pre-trail interview will be released on February 1st, 2021. The day we will find ourselves waist deep in our first steps on the Florida Trail. This one we filmed a few days before leaving and it is a fun one, it shows the mind of a thru-hiker getting prepped for their journey, all the odds and ends to complete, as well as the mindset in the days before! Yet, moving forward into 2021, what can you expect from us here? Well, again it will be dictated by trail. The first few months we will be doing about bi-weekly check-ins and sit downs with Tell Your Trail, to show our mindset and our evolution (again devolution??) as trail continues to harden our bodies but free our minds. We are so excited for this! Paired with our action and live shots while on trail, by sitting down and having a conversation together and check-in it will give us the opportunity to say and let you feel fully how the trail has been treating us. Starting April, when we begin heading over to the NCT (official start date contingent on when we finish previous trail), we will move over to weekly check-ins. The weekly check-ins will include Magpie as she hikes with us, and we are so excited to see the dynamics of growth together again on trail, as the miles melt beneath our feet, and our hearts fully melt into each other again. We are so excited for this addition into bringing you hiking season 2021, so you can experience the full flavor of each moment, each section, each trail!
Our hiking partner, our teammate, our friend, our life partner, our love, the one and only Magpie.
Fourth, if you have not already please go over and follow us on our Instagram Page, ElevenSkys. Over on this platform, we will be releasing daily pictures. Our goal is to release at-least (1) picture a day, sometimes more, along this journey of 8,000 miles over 7-8 months. A picture that speaks to us that day. A picture of our surroundings, of our trail family, of ourselves, of moments that need definition and of moments that need no caption they speak loudly enough themselves. We are extremely excited to see this project over the months and over the vastness of terrain and trail systems that we will be doing. The people involved, the communities, the nature, the trail, the mentality, the destruction of multiple pairs of shoes, the destruction of our hips.....again, and we also will be carrying a throw back "guest" from one of our previous trail systems. They will be hidden in each photo and sometimes blatantly starred in each photo, so it will be like a "Where's Waldo" of trail. We are incredibly excited to share this project with you, and look back ourselves and see the still shots of what grabbed our attention and our hearts each day on trail. If you you have any weird suggestions for any photos please let us know by commenting on one of our pictures, we would love to include anything we can.
Fifth, but certainly not least. Our first production run for 2021. We have a schedule set, and our new colorways of pants and shorts will be available end of March, early April. The first ElevenSkys Pant Line is in production, along with the shorts you all already love! We are extremely excited and honored to bring you new gear! From all your love and support we have been able to continue to grow, and hone and perfect the gear that you all love, not change, we promised you to never change but instead let the gear grow with you, we only have used all your feedback to perfect the gear that makes your hike possible! We are so excited for the colors and the production and cannot wait to share them all with you! You will see us wearing them in our videos as soon as they are available. So, remember to continue to check our Shop for their availability. All orders placed while out on trail will continue to be shipped normally and within a day or two of orders being placed. Thank you so much for the support and love.
Actual colors will differ! Also, the mud is only added on when you put them on!
Okay, we believe that is the majority of the house cleaning and updates that we needed to define. A few additional quick ones however. If you do not know we have partnered with HikingForHunger an amazing couple who will be hiking the Appalachian Trail Northbound this year of 2021. They are also doing it for an amazing cause of supporting a food bank, called Manna Food Bank (link in their bio). We are honored they would chose us to support them and their cause in their journey, so please show them some love and support by following along as well. Another additional update is remember to continue to check our Interview Page, we will be trying to update it as frequently as we can, as more interviews are released from other publications. We love all the feedback, so please continue to let us know your thoughts, opinions, and moments and we will respond back as soon as we can!
Well, we believe that is it. Our house is clean. Our pack is packed. Our shoes are on. We have let you see our tomorrow, a tomorrow due in part and possible because of all of you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. We are beyond excited for 2021 hiking season! A goal of 6 years in the making being completed. It will only take 8,000 miles and 7-8 months on trail with averaging 30+ miles everyday. Completing all 11 National Scenic Trails in the United States by the age of 27. Our life work and our passion continue to be inspired and brought to you from trail, and we could not feel more lucky to be a part of this beautiful community and world. Tomorrow. Tomorrow has being teasing us and nagging at us for months now, years. Always speaking to us from the depths of our souls, waiting for this moment, ready for this moment. The tomorrow's past of day after day, month after month, and year after year of exhaustion and work have finally accumulated into the one we have been moving towards, the one and only Tomorrow.
No matter on trail or off, we live by this quote, whether the struggle is physical or mental it all builds strength.
With feet ready for stepping and our hearts and minds full of possibilities,
Sincerely,
Constantine
ElevenSkys
P:S: Next article will come to you from the Florida Trail!!!!!!